Berks County commissioner candidates express goals at forum
Four candidates competing for three Berks County commissioner positions weighed in on issues, including farmland preservation and economic development, during a recent Berks County Farm Bureau event.
Incumbent Commissioners Christian Y. Leinbach and Kevin S. Barnhardt touted their experience in office, while challengers Michael Rivera and Donna Reed highlighted what they could bring to the table.
The Democratic candidates are Barnhardt of South Heidelberg Township and city Councilwoman Reed of Reading. The Republicans are Leinbach of Tilden Township and real estate agent Rivera of Bern Township.
Leinbach and Rivera are running as a team, hoping to maintain the Republican majority on the threemember Board of Commissioners.
In elections for county commissioner, voters choose two candidates but the top three vote-getters take office. Commissioners serve four-year terms and have annual salaries of $90,260.
The candidates fielded a range of questions during the roughly two-hour-long Measure the Candidate forum at the Berks County Agricultural Center in Bern Township. While candidates seeking other county row offices also spoke at the event, many of the questions from the audience were directed toward the commissioners race.
The forum gave those in attendance a chance to get to the know candidates — particularly the newcomers — and ask questions that focused specifically on issues impacting the agricultural community.
Here are some of the questions:
The Berks County Comprehensive Plan 2030 includes many changes away from agricultural zoning to promote development around several communities and highway interchanges. Do you support this?
Reed pointed out that zoning plans are crafted at the municipal level. She acknowledged that county commissioners can make recommendations, but ultimately those decisions are made by township supervisors and borough council members.
However, the 66-yearold said she’s concerned that recent cuts to transportation funding from the state could potentially create more traffic problems. She also stressed that economic growth is important but is hesitant to see farmland developed.
Barnhardt, 60, said the plan is a vital tool used to help pinpoint where development should happen.
“We need industrial manufacturing growth in this county,” he said. “When you look at Chester, Lancaster and Montgomery counties, they have triple or quadruple the tax base we do. We have beautiful farmland, but we also need to recognize that we need that solidified tax base near major infrastructure.”
Michael Rivera, who admitted he wasn’t familiar with the 2030 plan, said he believes a good plan would be one that has input from many people who represent different perspectives and different communities.
“Everyone should have a voice so we can make informed decisions about what is the best use of our land,” the 49-year-old said. “We need to look at how those decisions will help our future as well as how it will change what is already here.”
Leinbach, 60, echoed Reed in explaining that zoning is an issue handled by municipal leaders.
What do you think will be the top challenges facing Berks County in the next five to 10 years?
Barnhardt said there are several financial issues that the county must address. He said replacing the Berks County Prison will be a huge cost to taxpayers, keeping the countyowned nursing home under county control will be a priority and funding state mandates will continue to be a burden.
Replacing the county prison and keeping the Berks Heim in county hands were also top concerns for Rivera as well. He said another worry is the $68 million in proposed state and federal funding cuts over the next several years, explaining that the county needs sound infrastructure to and from other cities if it wants to remain economically viable.
Leinbach said making sure the county remains fiscally strong is important in order to address these concerns.
“The No. 1 issue facing the county is the future of the Berks County jail,” he said. “The cost of a new jail is somewhere between $100 and $200 million. It’s enormous.”
The second biggest issue, he added, is transportation. He said the county needs its state and federal legislators to properly fund infrastructure projects.
Reed agreed with Leinbach on transportation being a big problem.
“Without transportation, we’re not going anywhere,” she said. “And we’re in a transportation desert right now. We need to work with our state and federal legislators, as well as our neighbors, to look at bringing light rail back to the region.”
With agriculture being the No. 1 industry in Berks County, do you have any thoughts about what farmers could do to educate the public about what we bring to the table?
Rivera said the business community should take a greater role in helping farmers plan for the future.
“An expert or a consultant may be able to tell us how we get from point A to point B,” he said.
Leinbach appluaded farmers, particularly dairy farmers, for getting on board with a baleboard campaign to promote Pennsylvania-produced milk. The campaign, he said, carries a simple but important message from dairy farmers.
“That whole milk is healthy,” he said. “We have to start by promoting ourselves.”
Reed said she sees great potential in agrotourism. She pointed out that many farms are transforming their homes into bed and breakfasts, are selling more of their products by the side of the road and are creating corn mazes to draw crowds.
Barnhardt suggested farmers tap into the organic market that is so popular with millenials. He said one of his goals, if elected to a fourth term, will be to bring a better understanding of the benefits of eating healthy foods produced locally to those who live within the city.
“One of the things I’ve been working on is bringing hydroponic farming to the urban core,” he said. “We’re settled on working with Opportunity House to provide a facility that would in turn give folks there job skills and also to educate students in the Reading School District about healthy eating.”
What are your thoughts on legalizing recreational marijuana?
Leinbach said he absolutely opposes the legailzation of recreational marijuana for many reasons.
He noted that marijuana is far more potent than the marijuana of the 1960s, that addiction specialists say use among young people leads to long-term negative impacts on brain developement and that DUI crashes have increased in states that have chosen to legalize marijuana.
“And here’s the biggest reason: the number one type of marijauna are edibles and edibles are very attractive to children,” he said. “That’s not what I want in my state.”
Reed said that while she supports decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana for nonviolent offenders, she believes more research must be conducted about the impact of legalizing recreational marijuana before state lawmakers move forward on this proposal.
“Recreational marijuana is far away from being legalized in this state,” she said.
Barnhardt said he opposes legalization for a number of reasons but focused his comments on the financial piece of the issue. Historically, he said, states that tried to impose sin taxes have regretted it. He does, however, support the use of medical marijuana because he said it’s controlled, regulated and limited to those with certain chronic illnesses.
Rivera said he opposes the move for the reasons already cited by the other candidates. He also brought the issue home for those in the audience by arguing that it could be a huge liability for business owners who might have an employee show up high to work.